By Lamin Njie
Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Mamburay Njie on Friday said the Gambia government remains committed to prudent macro-economic policy management.
Mr Njie stated this as he tabled the national budget for the 2018/2019 financial year before the National Assembly. The 2018/2019 budget amounts to 25 billion dalasis.
“The Gambia has registered some positive economic gains during the period under review. However, our fiscal position remains critical. Maintaining macro-economic stability continues to be our main objective going forward which will require aligning our expenditure strictly with the budget and the financial regulations,” Njie said in his budget speech.
According to him, “as we recover from a difficult transition, macro-economic stability becomes a pre-requisite anchored towards national development objectives as enshrined in our national development plan.”
“Currently, our public debt to GDP is about 88 percent highlighting an unsustainable trajectory. This requires close attention to bring it down to a level that meets the potential limit of 40 percent which is the desirable position for a developing country. It is therefore important for all the relevant stakeholders associated with revenue collection to be more efficient in the tax collection,” he said.
